MED104: Assessment 3

Thumbnail-related Slides; Image examples from The Skilful Huntsman

The Design Process: Thumbnails

Exploratory drawings Widely used in industry Aim: Visual brainstorm process designed to develop a strong silhouette A strong thumbnail = a strong design Working method: Time invested in thumbnails is more valuable than time invested in a single design solution

1 idea per thumbnail

Start general to specific

Shape exploration

Design motifs

Thumbnail Tricks
Tips to help you come up with design ideas:
Draw 10 20 basic shapes (square, circle, star, etc) and base your character on these (any part face, whole shape, body) Write a list of 30 design ideas and thumbnail each Put together a series of reference images and choose an element from one for the basis of a design If you have an established design, break it down in to its design motifs and thumbnail new designs using each element as the basis Write about your character, creature or environment Draw 1 basic silhouette, copy various times and use that as a basis Have FUN!

Thumbnail Tricks
Make a list of all the elements the character requires Keep a watch handy and decide how long each thumbnail will take Stick to your time limit If a design doesn't work move on dont spend to long on one design Work rough

Things to avoid
Start with a large drawing Do no research for reference material Start without revising your output/platform requirements Dont think about the way it will move Only develop 1 solution for a brief Continue with a design when you are not happy with it

Refining your idea

Once you have a few sketches from your thumbnails it is time to develop them
Why have we gone through this process? We very often work too subtly We need ways to experiment with our work and see it for what it is You may come back to the original If you are up to this then you have the hard work done!

Refining your idea

Caricature: rediscovering at the essence of your character Exaggeration: Take your character idea and exaggerate some portion of it. The exaggeration can either be extreme or subtle, depending on your intention. Be careful that you do not exaggerate everything within the character. X10: Like the previous exercise. Take your design and push it to the extreme exaggerate it by 10, then do it again Adding and subtracting: Take your character and begin removing thingsbody parts or accessories; it does not matter. The method is simply to get you to look at things differently. Using Repetition: Take an element of the design and repeat it numerous times. Distorting: Distortion is very self-explanatory. Shear, twist, fold, spindle, and mutilate your character, portions of your character, the original idea, the costume, anything. Nothing is sacred or beyond your ability to distort. Changing the Scale: Take a part of your idea and change the scale. Change the scale of your whole character if it will work. To effectively change the scale of an object, you must include something within the image or on the character to give a visual clue as to the scale.

Refining

Possible Solutions

Final